OT: 26 August 1933 – Another Subscriber “Piobaireachd and the Clarsach”

The Oban Times, 26 August, 1933

Piobaireachd and the Clarsach

Sir,–At the MacCrimmon Memorial I had the good fortune to meet a direct descendent of the Borreraig MacCrimmons, with the natural gift of piobaireachd composition and yet he rarely plays.

In speaking to him, I gradually oozed from his lips [sic] the story of the Clarsach and the Pipe and to my surprise, he told me that the clarsach influenced the pipe pointing out how the music of the late 16th or 17th century stood above all others in merit.

He went so far as to say that piobaireachd renderings on the clarsach were common at one time. Full of old lore he was almost uncanny in his knowledge of Iain Dall. Would it be too much to ask him to give us, through your paper, a short account of the Highland musicians of the 16th century. Trusting he may see this letter.